


Stay with Me, Just for this Moment

by an3m1c



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Banter, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Light Angst, M/M, Promises, Yorkshin City | Yorknew City (Hunter X Hunter), Yorkshin City | Yorknew City Arc (Hunter X Hunter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:47:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an3m1c/pseuds/an3m1c
Summary: “Who knew this is how we’d meet in Yorknew,” Kurapika says, still staring at the ground. There’s an emptiness to Kurapika’s voice that Leorio couldn’t quite wrap his head around. Even though he so desperately wants to understand the void in Kurapika’s heart, Leorio knows that no matter how hard he tries, he will never quite be able to hold enough space for Kurapika’s grief. Sometimes, trying is more than enough. This is one of those times.Kurapika and Leorio finally get a moment to themselves at the end of their stay in Yorknew City.
Relationships: Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 12
Kudos: 125





	Stay with Me, Just for this Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Setting: September 6th, 2 days after Killua and Gon’s hostage exchange, day Kurapika wakes up from fever, day before Kurapika leaves Yorknew (I know the 1999 anime has Kurapika spiraling for like the entire day and everyone is sort of in hiding but just work with me here).

Leorio does his best to tidy up the hotel room Killua, Gon, and himself have been staying at. Between everything that has happened recently, cleanliness was not at the top of the trio’s priority list. 

Killua and Gon had left to train for the rest of the day, and Leorio figured that if the two nen-users could escape from the Phantom Troupe they could handle training alone for a bit without a chaperone. Around that same time, Leorio texted Kurapika, “I know you’re a working-man but if you have time to catch up before you leave, I’ll be in the hotel”. 

His hand hovered over the unsent message longer than usual. His desire to see Kurapika before the two of them parted ways was a selfish one. After all, Kurapika had only woken up from his fever a few hours ago. Even though Leorio wanted to give Kurapika space after the whole hostage exchange ordeal, his selfishness got the better of him and the message was sent. 

He didn’t expect a response from Kurapika, but about 10 minutes ago his phone buzzed with a message saying “10 minutes away”. 

The thought of the two of them alone in this setting makes Leorio’s heart all jittery; he’s unsure why he feels so antsy about seeing Kurapika. They haven’t had much time to talk since they got to Yorknew. When they did, it was typically the four of them together, the two of them working on a hostage exchange, or him tending to a very unconscious Kurapika none of which involved the two of them “catching up”. 

Leorio did his best to keep up with the friends he made at the Hunter exam. As challenging as it is to keep in contact with Kurapika, Leorio cherished every message and phone call he received from him. Whenever his phone lights up with Kurapika’s name, his eyes brighten just a little bit at the knowledge that his friend is still alive.

There are three sharp knocks on the hotel room door as Leorio sets down some textbooks he instinctively brought.

“Coming!” Leorio straightens his tie as he walks towards the entrance of the room.

Leorio opens the door to a head of blond hair and a pair of soft brown eyes still fighting to keep exhaustion at bay.

“You didn’t even check to see if I was an intruder,” Kurapika smiles just a little, walking past Leorio.

“Hey, I need to keep life exciting somehow. Even if you were an intruder, I’d knock you down in no time,” Leorio follows Kurapika who had already sat down on one of the beds.

“Were these past couple days not enough excitement for you?” Kurapika’s voice is soft, but there’s a bite to his words. Whatever flicker of lightness was in his voice quickly fades.

Leorio takes a seat on the bed across from him, their knees almost touching. Shit, he thought.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- I was just-” Leorio’s apology fades into the space between them. He couldn’t see Kurapika’s eyes, but he could tell his comment came off as insensitive. 

It’s been a while since they were this physically close, 7 months to be precise. During the first month or so of this year, the two of them sharing rooms, bumping into each other, being together was the norm, but a lot has changed since then. While he was busy burying himself in textbooks, Kurapika was training and opening old wounds. 

Leorio stares at Kurapika’s face whose eyes are glued to the faded hotel carpet. Only 7 months had passed, but Kurapika seems to have aged years. There are bags under his eyes that weren’t there before, and the determination behind his eyes have faded to a monotonous note of vengeance. Even after parting ways at the Zoldyck house, Leorio knew that Kurapika would stay firm to his mission no matter what anyone else said, but back then, there was a youthful conviction to how he would talk about avenging his clan, a fire to his words waiting to spread throughout a forest in order for it to be rebuilt stronger than before. Leorio misses that spark in his eyes. Now, that fire has grown, spread, destroyed leaving only ashes and soot in its wake. 

“Who knew this is how we’d meet in Yorknew,” Kurapika says, still staring at the ground. There’s an emptiness to Kurapika’s voice that Leorio couldn’t quite wrap his head around. Even though he so desperately wants to understand the void in Kurapika’s heart, Leorio knows that no matter how hard he tries, he will never quite be able to hold enough space for Kurapika’s grief. Sometimes, trying is more than enough. This is one of those times.

Leorio breaks his stare at Kurapika’s head, opting for something less intimate like the chains on his right hand. There is so much Leorio wanted to say to Kurapika, and so much Kurapika wanted to say to Leorio. Numerous stories, banters, memories silently occupy the space between them waiting to be verbalized into existence.

“Yeah, who knew. Gon and Killua are practically adults now,” Leorio knows by the tone of Kurapika’s voice that he isn’t here for small talk, but he attempts to lighten the atmosphere between them anyways.

That’s one of the many things Kurapika liked about Leorio. The tall lanky man could change his mood in a split second. To Kurapika, it was like magic. He knows there’s a bleakness to his personality that he frequently sinks into. It’s never intentional, and Kurapika rarely notices it until someone manages to pierce the clouds above his head to remind him that he deserves to feel the sun on his skin. He supposes it’s one of the many side effects that come with walking down a path towards revenge. 

“Leorio,” Kurapika looks up to meet his eyes.

“Someone’s talkative I see,” Leorio responds with a lopsided smile.

Kurapika surprises himself with what he says next. “Can you- can you sit next to me?” 

Leorio, equally surprised by the request, walks towards Kurapika, sits down by his side, and lessens the space between them being sure to leave the smallest gap out of courtesy for the Kurta.

He doesn’t know if it’s the doctor or the friend in him, but Leorio begins studying Kurapika’s breaths. His breaths are long and strained as if he is trying to make the most out of the oxygen in the room. Every inhale and exhale is more laborious than the last, glaring signs of Kurapika’s current state. Soon Leorio is lost in the rhythm of Kurapika’s breathing. Time, for now, is measured not by the ticking of a clock but by Kurapika’s breaths. In. Out. In. Out. Leorio likes this change of pace.

“Leorio,” Kurapika says quieter than before. 

“Hmm?” Leorio reponds still in the trance that is Kurapika’s breathing.

“Promise me you won’t move,” Kurapika’s voice sounds more tired than he looks.

“I promise,” Leorio responds without a second thought.

Kurapika moves closer to Leorio, closing the gap between them, and lays his head down on the tall man’s shoulders. As if by reflex, Leorio wraps his arm around Kurapika’s body depriving the space between them of any air. 

“You broke that promise fast,” Kurapika's voice sends vibrations through Leorio’s bones, and Leorio feels what might have been a chuckle from the blond on his shoulder.

“Sure did,” Leorio smiles as Kurapika makes no attempt to reject his embrace.

Leorio gently rests his head on Kurapika’s and inhales deeply as he holds the small figure in his arms. He closes his eyes as he gets lost in Kurapika’s scent, and at some point in time, Kurapika had also closed his eyes. Even after all the time he spent working in the city, Kurapika still distinctly smells of a forest. Leorio’s mind conjures up images of lush greenery, trees that reach the clouds, and vines ornamenting every flora in sight. He wonders if this is what Kurapika’s home in the Lukso Province smelled like. It must have been a nice place to grow up, he thinks.

Kurapika allows himself to melt into Leorio’s embrace, and the void in his chest slowly fills with an indescribable tingling sensation that he only feels when thinking about the man holding him. His shoulders loosen, and the conjured chains disappear from his right hand. Between the massacre of his clan and the Hunter exam, Kurapika had not developed close bonds with anyone. It was less of a conscious choice and more of another side effect of vengeance. When one’s heart burns with that much rage, it seems impossible for anything else to take space there; Kurapika always fears that anything that doesn’t fuel his rage will only get turned into ashes. There appeared to be little room in his heart for much else until he met Leorio. The man reminded Kurapika that if he could hold space in his heart for every member of his clan, he will always be capable of holding space for a couple more people. He showed him that he holds onto the memories of his people not with an iron fist but with a gentle unwavering embrace. He showed him that he is still capable of softness, that despite growing up too fast, he is still able to radiate the same tenderness that was once shared amongst the Kurta people. 

Kurapika is grateful everyday that he has made space in his heart for Leorio. To Kurapika, Leorio is the person who reminds him that sunlight exists, no, he’s brighter than the sun. He’s the warmth that reminds him he is loved, the light that lets him clearly see the path he’s walking on, the reason why flowers grow even on the path of retribution. Because of Leorio, Kurapika is able to momentarily look away from the future to enjoy the sun on his face, the arm around his shoulder, the body pressed against his as if bound by unbreakable chains. 

The two sit together in silence, slowly becoming consumed by each other’s presence. Time no longer exists and neither does language; there’s no reason for either when time can be measured by the breaths they take and messages can be communicated by the weight of one’s head, the breathlessness of a hug, the muscle movements preceding a smile. The thoughts that once suspended between them dissipate clearing the air, allowing them to truly exist in the present.

Shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, heart to heart. The two are not bound by the same chains of vengeance as those that are typically wrapped around Kurapika’s hands. These chains are manifested out of Leorio’s stubbornness, his absolute refusal to let Kurapika travel down this path alone. He knows there’s nothing he can do or could do to stop Kurapika. He knows that when Kurapika leaves Yorknew tomorrow, the dark clouds will set back in, and as he continues walking he’ll face self-conjured lightning strikes, thunderstorms, and whatever other destructive forces come his way. His days will become so dark, that he’ll forget the existence of light.

Leorio holds Kurapika a little tighter than before as his feelings towards the man in his arms spark a fire in his chest that feels almost too warm, too bright, too large for his being to handle. His head still softly resting atop of Kurapika’s, Leorio decides here in this dingy hotel room that he will stay by Kurapika’s side even when he inevitably becomes engulfed in his own fire. He will hold Kurapika until the flames flicker into nothingness to remind him that forests grow even after the most violent fires, that destruction doesn’t guarantee one’s demise. He will remind Kurapika that no matter how dark the clouds may seem, the sun will always be there waiting for him, and he will remind him of this over and over again no matter how many times they have to walk through bad weather. Just you watch, Leorio thought. This time, I won’t move.

As his thoughts come to a close, Leorio lifts his head up from Kurapika’s and places a gentle kiss on top of Kurapika’s head, a kiss to seal all the promises he vows to keep.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in YEARS so thanks for sticking around and reading this <3 I hope you have a nice day
> 
> Shout out to my friend Ven for the lovely title!
> 
> Update: @MORFIUMD created really beautiful art for this! Thank you thank you for your hard work. Everyone should support and check out morfium's work [here!](https://twitter.com/morfiumd/status/1327264995743186944?s=20)
> 
> And you want to drop by and say hi, my twitter is [@an3m1c](https://twitter.com/an3m1c) :)


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